For those of you living under rocks or simply outside the US mediasphere you probably haven't heard about the "spectacular" murder trial that ended with an acquittal this week. Of far greater interest is the reaction of CNN's own "mouth from the South", their sanctimonious legal talking helmet-head Nancy Grace. I wasn't going to bother with it but here's Turley's take:
"While many were surprised by the verdict in the Casey Anthony case yesterday, some things remained both predictable and consistent like Nancy Grace’s reaction to any defendant prevailing in a criminal case. Grace’s choleric persona was in full rage that the jury would deign to find the evidence insufficient to convict the woman who Grace had already convicted many times on her show."
Turley's Blog
I also ran across this gem:
"CNN, which enjoyed blockbuster ratings for its nonstop coverage of the Casey Anthony case, said today it would cover a future Casey Anthony murder trial "if and when Nancy Grace kills her." While network executives were cautiously optimistic about their chances of another murder-trial ratings bonanza, one network source said, "I just saw Nancy in the hall, and she could blow any second." ... Across the country, there were several reported incidents of CNN viewers being severely burned by fire shooting from Nancy Grace's nostrils."
Dispatches From The Culture Wars
Now that we have that crap out of the way, the real news story this week is that Rupert Murdoch's print operation in the UK is in a spot of legal trouble. Here's the latest outrage:
"News of the World...encountered a problem. Milly's voicemail box filled up... thirsty for more information from more voicemails, the paper...deleted the messages that had been left in the first few days after her disappearance. ...this had a devastating effect: when her friends and family called again and discovered that her voicemail had been cleared, they concluded that this must have been done by Milly herself and, therefore, that she must still be alive."
This story is so fucked up I was seriously thinking of making it a separate post but I didn't have the time. Oh wait, now they're throwing in the the towel:
The scandal "sullied" the newspaper and "has no place in our company," News International Chairman James Murdoch said Thursday in announcing the shutdown.
As if this changes anything. When are you going to shut down the entire festering empire, Jimmy? (
CNN)
"Unused dollar coins have been quietly piling up in Federal Reserve vaults in breathtaking numbers, thanks to a government program that has required their production since 2007. And even though the neglected mountain of money recently grew past the $1 billion mark, the U.S. Mint will keep making more and more of the coins under a congressional mandate. The pile of idle coins, which so far cost $300 million to manufacture, could double by the time the program ends in 2016, the Federal Reserve told Congress last year."
NPR
"Call me legalistic,” said Amos Peete of Watchlight Discernment Ministry, “but maybe the Church would be better served by NOT being led by a profit-driven clown. I mean, we already have Benny Hinn out there, don’t we?”
✂...
Among other criticisms by Peete is McDonald’s past associations with Hamburglar, a known criminal, and Grimace, who after leaving McDonaldland discovered his Christ-consciousness and became a Transcendental Meditation guru in Van Nuys, California. Added Peete with a sigh, “Ronald McDonald’s only qualification is marketing Happy Meals with a smile. Good grief, he’s like Joel Osteen with orange hair.”
Sacred Sandwich
For those of you who actually who actually bother to read this article, the name Abanes may sound familiar. I listed his prophecy book in the sidebar article
Prophets Or Profits? He's a bit more on the mark in that book. Not surprisingly he sees Warren as an acceptable compromise between the extremists and the Show-Up-On-Sunday-Morning Set.
"What depresses me is what this Macmillan Reader edition says about our American educational system. Any high school student who cannot read The Great Gatsby in the original cannot read. That student has been sold a bill of goods. We know that teachers at the college level complain that many of their students cannot read and write competently. If this is an example of a book they are assigned, can they be blamed?"
Roger Ebert
One of the commenters says the book in question is for ESL (English as a second language) students. As Roger replies, why adulterate a classic work of literature while lame crap abounds? I've never read Fitzgerald myself and I probably never will but what amazes me is that someone got paid to "write" this. What a waste of money. Any high school history textbook would have been illiterate enough.
Rev. Bobby Schuller has been ousted from the Crystal Cathedral Ministries board:
"The cathedral recently switched over from a traditional worship format to a Gospel-style choir – much to the chagrin of many long-time members. Coleman also required choir members to sign a covenant acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The older Schuller publicly lashed out at the contract saying everyone is welcome in the church. Phillip Johnson, the architect who constructed the cathedral's iconic glass sanctuary, was an openly gay man."
OC Register
See kids, it really
does happen: "A Parish man who was participating in a motorcycle helmet protest ride was killed this afternoon when he went over the handlebars of his motorcycle and injured his head on the pavement"
Syracuse
